American Issues Warning of Additional Nigeria Military Actions as Abuja Speaks of 'Joint Continuing Operations'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated further military actions against ISIS targets in north-western Nigeria. This comes a short time after U.S. military forces took action against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a campaign to stop the slaughter of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear previously: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” Hegseth wrote on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Top Diplomat Describes Strikes as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, stated on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This statement followed after the former U.S. leader had previously accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a non-religious state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has garnered focus from conservative groups in the United States, who frame it as sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have pointed out that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Collaboration Preceding the Airstrikes

Nigeria supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He explained that he had consulted with his American opposite number, before called the Nigerian president for authorization, and subsequently conferred with the American official again.

“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to work with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africa Command confirmed the strikes in Sokoto state had been carried out in coordination with local officials.

Context of Conflict in North-West Nigeria

Forests in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by criminal groups and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some observers say this affiliate originated when herders joined together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

Clashes between pastoralists and predominantly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in competition for land and water.

• Priests and pastors have increasingly been taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than sectarian hatred.
• A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and injured dozens more, in a separate insurgency mostly unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Violence and Statistics

There have been thousands of incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about half of them affecting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the most affected regions.

Tuggar emphasized that the operation was about “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not a single faith. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Broader American Foreign Policy

This action occurs amid a wider pattern of American activity overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this presidency has seen military actions in several countries and a significant deployment of forces in another region.

No official from the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When questioned if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”